Top News

How PRWeb Helps Distribute Crap Into Google & News Sites — “What's the use of PRWeb?,” tweeted Megan McCarthy of Reuters, trying to digest how that service ended up circulating a fake Google acquisition story. Come along, Megan and others, and I'll explain one of the sorriest uses …

Google Sources Say Company Didn't Buy ICOA Wireless — Sources at Google are denying reports that the search giant has acquired ICOA Wireless in a $400 million deal. — We have yet to hear from a Google rep on the record. But people within the company say that contrary to a press release posted …

PRWeb Statement on Fraudulent ICOA Press Release — PRWeb transmitted a press release for ICOA that we have since learned was fraudulent. The release was not issued or authorized by ICOA. Vocus reviews all press releases and follows an internal process designed to maintain the integrity of the releases we send out every day.

Nintendo: 400K Wii U units sold, 1.2M devices total — The company's president of America Reggie Fils-Aime says that the Wii U is “essentially sold out of retail.” — Nintendo sold more than 1 million hardware units over the last week, the company has confirmed to CNET.

The YC VC Program — Two years ago Yuri Milner and Ron Conway formed an informal coalition to invest $150k in every startup we funded. Although we didn't organize this program, over the years we ended up de facto managing it, and it was awkward to manage something we hadn't started.

Amazon Raises $3 Billion in a Rare Bond Offering — Amazon.com Inc. went beyond its usual Cyber Monday deals with a different type of offering: debt. — The Seattle-based Web giant on Monday tapped capital markets with its first bond offering in nearly 15 years, raising $3 billion for what it said were “general corporate purposes.”

Internal Apple video documents Apple Store philosophy — Washington Square Films (NYC) gave us a rare look at one of the internal videos that Apple has shown its retail store employees. This one is obviously over a year old, with Ron Johnson at the helm (the date says 7/7/2011).

Verizon Sued For Defending Alleged BitTorrent Pirates — The ongoing avalanche of mass-BitTorrent lawsuits reveal that IP-addresses can get people into a heap of trouble. — In many cases the person who pays for the account is not the person who shared the copyrighted material.

The Android engagement paradox — IBM's Digital Analytics Benchmark reported US Black Friday sales and the news is reasonably good. Overall online sales grew by 17.4% while mobile grew to make up 24% of traffic. — The data goes further to show the split between device types.

iPhone 5 Costs May Be Eating Apple's Gross Margins — How much longer can Apple maintain the high margins it has long commanded for devices like the iPhone? Not much longer, says Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves, who believes the company's gross profit per device has risen as high as it will ever go.